Note: Judgepedia will be read-only from 9pm CST on February 25-March 5 while Judgepedia is merged into Ballotpedia. Starting on March 5, all Judgepedia content will be contained on Ballotpedia.org. For status updates, visit lucyburns.org.

Early life and education

A native of Detroit, Friedman graduated with his law degree from Detroit Mercy College of Law in 1968.[1]

Military service

Before entering the legal profession, Friedman served as a U.S. Army Lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps from 1967 to 1968 on active duty, and continued for five more years as a U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant in the JAG Corps from 1968 to 1973.[1]

Professional career

After serving in active duty, Friedman was a felony trial attorney in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office from 1969 to 1970 before working for 12 years in private practice in Detroit and Southfield from 1974 to 1982. Friedman then served as a state judge in Michigan's 48th District from 1982 to 1988.[1]

Notable cases

On February 25, 2014, a case challenging Michigan's same-sex marriage ban was brought in the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Bernard Friedman presided over the case, which was brought by April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, two women in the state. They challenged Michigan's Marriage Amendment, Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment approved by 58.6 percent of voters in 2004.[2] The case was initiated in 2012 after DeBoer and Rowse were denied the ability to adopt one another's children under state law.[3] Judge Friedman allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint to challenge the state's ban on same-sex marriage in August 2012. The law was defended in court by the Michigan State Attorney General's Office.

In attempting to define this case as a challenge to “the will of the people,” state defendants lost sight of what this case is truly about: people. No court record of this proceeding could ever fully convey the personal sacrifice of these two plaintiffs who seek to ensure that the state may no longer impair the rights of their children and the thousands of others now being raised by same-sex couples.[4][5]

”

Judge Friedman further noted that his decision "affirmed the enduring principle that . . . the guarantee of equal protection must
prevail." Since the federal ruling in U.S. v. Windsor, federal judges have struck down same-sex marriage bans in a number of states, including Virginia, Utah, and Oklahoma.[6] In those cases, judges have opted to stay their rulings pending appeal. Here, Judge Friedman notably made no mention of such a delay, meaning that same-sex couples in Michigan could potentially obtain marriage licenses on the next business day.[4]

On the same day Judge Friedman's ruling was announced publicly, Michigan's attorney general filed an emergency appeal with the Sixth Circuit, requesting that the ruling be stayed and reconsidered.[3][4] The Sixth Circuit issued a temporary injunction against Friedman's decision on the following day, after about 300 same-sex couples had already been married.[7]